I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the freight transportation industry and more particularly to a method and apparatus for providing proof of delivery verification for use in such freight transportation systems.
II. Description of the Related Art
Throughout much of the world today, the primary transportation system used to move goods from one location to another is by tractor-trailer vehicles. Such vehicles provide trucking companies, or carriers as they are known, with the capability and flexibility to transport large amounts of goods to multiple destinations efficiently.
In a typical transaction, a carrier is called upon to transport goods from one location to another by a customer, otherwise known as a shipper. Examples of shippers might include almost any manufacturer of goods. The shipper provides delivery instructions to the carrier comprising details of the shipment, including, for example, when and where to pick up the goods and where to ship them. Generally, these instructions are provided to the carrier and the carrier dispatches a vehicle to transport the goods. The instructions pertaining to the shipment are provided to vehicle operator in the form of a document commonly referred to as a “bill of lading”. The bill of lading may also provide other pertinent information concerning the shipment, such as a description and quantity of the goods being shipped.
The vehicle arrives at the shipper and is loaded with goods in accordance with the bill of lading. After the vehicle has been loaded, the vehicle operator may secure the goods by locking an access door, such as a roll-down door of a trailer. In addition, a seal may be installed proximate to the door to prove that the door was not opened during transit.
When the vehicle arrives at the intended destination, commonly known as a consignee, the trailer door is unlocked and the seal is broken, if these were used by the vehicle operator. The goods are then unloaded and received by the consignee. The consignee will generally sign the bill of lading signifying that the goods were received and also denoting the time and date of the delivery. The signed bill of lading is then generally given to the vehicle operator.
The vehicle operator then departs the consignee. However, instead of returning directly to the carrier, he or she may proceed to another pick-up destination. In many cases, the vehicle operator will be many hundreds of miles away from the carrier or a branch office associated with the carrier, making a direct return impractical. Thus, in many instances, the vehicle operator continues to make other pick-ups and deliveries of goods before returning to the dispatch center. It may take several days or even weeks before the vehicle operator returns to the dispatch center.
The carrier is generally paid for the delivery by submitting an invoice to the shipper after the delivery is made. The invoice typically includes a copy of the signed bill of lading. In most cases, the signed bill of lading is an extremely important document, as it evidences proof of delivery for the accompanying invoice. Many consignees will not pay such an invoice without a copy of the signed bill of lading or similar document evidencing delivery.
Unfortunately, the delay in obtaining signed bills of lading from vehicle operators introduces many problems for carriers. The bills of lading are sometimes lost or destroyed, or they may become unreadable. A complicated accounting process must be used to match invoices to their respective bills of lading. Most importantly, the delay in returning the bill of lading to the carrier by the vehicle operator means a delay of payment from the consignee.
What is needed is an efficient method and apparatus for quickly providing a proof of delivery verification to various parties involved in the transportation of goods to eliminate the just-mentioned problems. Ideally, the method and apparatus should be able to prove that the goods were not accessed during transit without the use of seals, which are generally easily compromised.